Wicked Witch
by ParisienneDLP
Summary: In their world you are no one until you are talked about. The elite of Hogwarts around whom drama and scandal never ends. Who are they? They're every parent's nightmare. A Gossip Girl inspired take on Harry Potter- Marauder era.
1. Pilot

Disclaimer: The world of Hogwarts and any recognisable characters, descriptions, scenarios etc, belong to JKR and the concept and some dialogues of the character Wicked Witch belong to the makers of Gossip Girl

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Halfway through the incredible welcoming feast the atmosphere at Hogwarts could not have been more positive. Especially with the lack of Wicked Witch blasts- the train ride for all, especially the on-coming fifth years had been rather torturous as this was the year they officially fell under the radar of the infamous gossiper. While it was a blessing that you were someone worth knowing in school, it was a curse for every move you made would be shamelessly broadcasted for the entire Hogwarts population to see and judge. It was always the same, Wicked Witch would study you for the first four years of your Hogwarts career to deem you worthy or unworthy and then for the next three mercilessly attack you socially, though some fifth years had been awarded with prior speculation, the privileged few as Wicked Witch called them. The lack of embarrassing summer stories was a welcome change, for usually halfway through Dumbledore's welcoming speech a howler would fly by accompanied by a massive poster with carefully selected and wittily captioned pictures to back up the stories being narrated. The result would be total distraction from the start of term notices, lack of order and the entire evening for mot to be a debacle of their nightmares. But so far, nothing, perhaps Wicked Witch had been a 7th Year last year which would mean that the students were now free of the embarrassment so cruelly inflicted upon them by this unknown phenomenon.

'I don't know if I'm glad for the lack of scandals, if she's really gone it means that we won't get caught nearly as many times as we did before, but admittedly it was a good way to leave a mark', Sirius Black said as he shoved the last of his dessert into his mouth. He was carelessly handsome with shaggy black hair that fell into his eyes with an unknown grace, stormy grey eyes and a lean tall muscular build. He was by all means, a vision to behold.

'We were like her favourite people, it's supposed to be about fifth years and above but she focused so much on us', replied James, pushing his empty dessert bowl away from himself. 'Not that I'm complaining, she established a reputation for us, on the train I was walking back from the toilets when I heard this first year say "that's James Potter, you don't want to get on the wrong foot with him and his friends, my brother told me, apparently some Wicked Witch said so". I'm quite appreciative of Wicked Witch'. James, Sirius' best friend may as well have been his twin, personality wise at least. James' eyes were shimmering hazel, and his hair, though as black as Sirius' could never achieve the eye-veil effect, instead his was a 'suggestive mess of bed-hair' as Wicked Witch had put on her first Marauder blast.

'But will we really miss her?' mused Peter, looking seriously at his two friends that were sat opposite from him. True it would be a breath of fresh air to get away from the constant speculation, but their reputations, their popularity would have been uncemented, if not non-existent, without Wicked Witch and her constant targeting of her 'favourite four'. Peter was the frequently questionable character in the group of four, perhaps it was simply because of his luck of being in the same dormitory or he was some form of genius unknown to all but his three friends. He had strawberry blonde hair and big baby blue eyes that shone on his round, plump face. He was short, chubby and was remarkably unimpressive in appearance, while the other three had an aura of majesty- Peter sufficiently lacked that flamboyance.

'I'm assuming she's really gone, Dumbledore's getting up to make his "off to bed speech", though I'll welcome the peace and privacy with open arms, I'll miss the amount of information she gave about everyone worth knowing at Hogwarts, I loved it.' James offered his opinion as he looked up at Dumbledore who had now begun his brief bedtime announcement.

'I know what you mean', voiced Remus Lupin, the last quarter of the infamous group, pausing for a bit to seemingly listen to Dumbledore conclude his 'now you are all well fed and in need of a good rest, classes start tomorrow' talk. Remus was the conscience of the group, the voice of reason, while, Sirius and James brought fun and excitement alongside recklessness, and Remus brought the analytical brain. On first sight he looked frail, often tired and usually supporting some scars, he had a mature sense about him that made his sandy hair and amber eyes appear not as ordinary as they would have been on any one else.

As student's slowly began to shuffle up from their seats, Remus gestured, looking up at the charmed ceiling to his friends saying: 'Actually, I don't think you'll miss her after all'. The signature self-delivered red envelope flew from the great double doors and the charmed ceiling changed from the dark night sky to two entwined W's in gold calligraphy. All the returning students immediately sat down in knowing expectation and the unknowing first years craned their necks up in confusion as the candles of the great hall dimmed and then the howler ripped itself open and the clear, feminine voice erupted around the hall…

_'Wicked Witch here, your one and only source into the scandalous lives of Hogwarts elite, as for my delay, forget a grand entrance, everyone knows it's the exit they'll remember. It may be late, but wakey wakey Hogwarts, summer's over and I'm starved for a dish so send me the details as you get them. As for the holidays, surely I won't bid you all good night without a bedtime story starting with my favourite, now fifth years, four as for them pranks and scandal never take a vacation, instead they head to Godric's Hollow to the Potters where Black has taken permanent residence _(and there flashed up in the charmed ceiling replacing the WW logo, a picture of Sirius holding his belongings in front of James' open door captioned: Potter's charity case. Seems the Black family has severed ends with their misfit and vice versa). _As the muggle writer Shakespeare said 'all's well that ends well', but in these cases it just ends. It seems friendships, neither relationships nor family seem to last forever for the purebloods. Also shown by the sixth year Ravenclaw BFFs, the Stanford twins _(and flashed on the night sky replacing Sirius' picture was that of Gabrielle Stanford chucking a cup of some steaming hot drink at her sister Julianne, splashing her in the face. It was captioned: 'That's what you get for being the other woman for your sister's boyfriend Jules. Don't mess with the Gabby'). _Also, I always thought that the new head boy and girl Amos Diggory and Jane Bones had been the most boring Hogwart's couple, but they've proven to be more interesting, especially when they're supposed to be with other people. Was that glass shattering? Nope, it's a break-up _(and the photograph in the ceiling changed once more, this time to show Amos and Jane asleep together in some hotel room with pictures of them with their significant others on either side all with a small caption reading: Who wants nice? Naughty is SO much more interesting)_. It seems that while breaking up seems to be in season, the Hogwarts seniors take trends to heart. Who would have thought that after four years Evans and McKinnon, Gryffindor's beloved girlfriends would come to an end_ (and flashed up a picture of Lily and Marlene laughing at something ripped from the middle, it was the only uncaptioned picture, shown tonight)? _I do love a good catfight girlies, RAWR. Though sadly there are no juicy stories on the cause yet. Term is yet to start, but these two girls _(a spot light illuminated Lily and Marlene who were with their other Gryffindor friends between them and they were displayed on the ceiling for all to see as they sat there with perfectly composed faces, neither looking up at the ceiling- betraying nothing) _have set out for me this school year's first enquiry. So here's an announcement for any one who wants to be worth anything under this roof: send me the details. Who am I? That's a secret I'll never tell. _(The ceiling began to mimic the narrative in writing)_ You know you love me. XOXO Wicked Witch'_

In the immediate aftermath of the howler ripping itself was shocked silence, aside from Jane Bones' soft sobs as her boyfriend confronted her and the loud slap Diggory received from his girlfriend. But in the following few seconds the noise slowly escalated starting with comments like 'So the family finally threw the embarrassment out' meant for Sirius from the Slytherin table that resulted in the outbreak of hexes, to decent one's like 'Lily, Marlene why are you fighting?' which the girls, now clearly apparent that they were in argument with each other chose to ignore with the background noise provided by the Stanford twins screaming abuses at each other.

Half an hour later, the students were escorted to their common rooms and dormitories, preceded by a massive interference form the heads of houses as they strived to control their students, while peers egged each other on. Wicked Witch had been right, forget the entrance, it's the exit people remembered and remembered well.

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Thanks for reading =)

Do review, for that would be awesome.


	2. Blasts From The Past

Disclaimer: The world of Hogwarts and any recognisable characters, descriptions, scenarios etc, belong to JKR and the concept and some dialogues of the character Wicked Witch belong to the makers of Gossip Girl

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Author's Note: I just realised a word is missing from the end of the last chapter it's supposed to read **'and remembered well'**. But I have edited it now.

Also I wanted to say thank you, for my first reviews, **Annabelle**- I had a look at the website you mentioned and the rules were very good I'll be keeping them in mind to improve my writing and **rawrTiffy**. It was much appreciated.

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It had been a week since Wicked Witch's hit on Lily and Marlene and both girls had firmly upheld their silence to the world about their dilemma and to each other about everything else. Though anybody who wanted to be somebody the school desperately searched for facts. Their methods were diabolical and it was a wonder no one had heard a word so far. The lower years stuck to harassing them continually hoping for them to finally break; they'd pester them with questions. Their ways were simple, but proving to be a pain for the two, the students persevered; whether they had to block the entrance to toilets when the girls needed to go to grabbing their bags to haul them down and keep them pinned for as long as they could to try and get what they wanted. Clearly, their idea was attrition. While the older, more experienced students were more creative, some stole polyjuice potion or veritaserum from Slughorn to find a clue, others would _accio_ their mail and read through it to find results. But by the end of the week even the most devout Gryffindor's who prided themselves on loyalty were now beginning to tear apart the girls' dormitory to find answers. For everyone it was a direct and no-nonsense "either you tell us, or we find out"

'I don't understand Wicked Witch's obsession with Evans and McKinnon's fall out, friendships end all the time', said a first year brunette to her sandy haired tutor as Lily Evans walked into the library with her friend Kathryn Everett. Although Lily and Marlene were not talking, there was no strain on anyone else's friendships with the girls in the group.

Remus looked up at the girls who had sat down nearer to his table for that direction was far more secluded than anywhere else was and Lily was still being continually harassed. He felt for the girl, he really did. 'Evans was always under the radar of Wicked Witch, she's very good friends with a Slytherin Severus Snape (the girl looked at him in surprise at 'Slytherin'). I even remember the first blast she made about her; it was only a few weeks into the term. It was quite a shock to the system, Lily was the first first year to get a mention from Wicked Witch. I'll show you how it went.'

'Wait, what do you mean when you say "show me"?' the young girl asked, confusion etched on her face

'Wicked Witch invented a way for us to revisit her comments privately, it's quite simple and ingenious at the same time. All you do is hold up your want at anything, name the person or people the blast was about plus any other detail that can help you narrow it down and flick it'. He answered patiently

'But I don't want Lily to know I'm talking about her, she'll think I'm just like those people that destroyed her dorm' said the girl worriedly, 'She's a prefect and a fifth year, I don't want a fight with her'

'Lily Evans is among the nicest people you'll meet around here.' He said simply and he took out his wand and whispered quietly 'Wicked Witch first ever blast about Lily Evans, Severus Snape, 1971'.

Suddenly silvery smoke erupted slowly from the length of Remus' wand only lasted a few inches into the air a quiet commentary started. '_Spotted: A Gryffindor and a Slytherin sitting under a tree doing the blasphemous deed of t-a-l-k-i-n-g _(and in the silvery smoke appeared a picture of Lily and Severus sitting with homework spread out under one of the many trees in the field. It was captioned: We knew water lilies attracted toads, but tiger lilies and snakes?)? _Looks like Lonely Boy has it going on with Gryffindor's flower. Wonder what L's boy's name is, but, ugh, who cares.'_

'That's not so scandalous' said the girl

'When you're a first year it's pretty incredible to be mentioned on there and a Gryffindor and a Slytherin in such close cahoots with each other, yeah it is pretty scandalous simply because it's pretty much unheard of'. Remus told her

'So this was it, she made friends with Snape and she was suddenly Hogwarts' elite?'

'No, that was just a mention, but it put her on the radar and she was mentioned in passing every other month or so. Near the end of second year was when she really rose to fame. It was when she started dating Sebastian Aldringham, one of Wicked Witch's targets, which immediately put her under constant speculation, you could say. They dated all through our third year and broke it off somewhere near mid fourth year but they've been on and off several times since then. When they started dating Aldringham was a fourth year and he was also the Ravenclaw keeper along with being from a prestigious family.' Remus told

'She was a second year dating a fourth year? Wow.'

'Lily was always very pretty and very clever too. She met Aldringham at Slughorn's parties, you'll hear of them (he added seeing the first years' confused face) and they hit it off' Remus elaborated

'And was Marlene known at all or was it just Lily that was so famous in Wicked Witch's eyes?'

'No Marlene's mother is from a very old pureblood family so she was generally known at Hogwarts and just based on that she was a shoe in for Wicked Witch's attention, but it wasn't till fourth year that Marlene came to fame. She cursed a bunch of sore loser Slytherins after they hexed her older brother after a Quidditch match that Gryffindor won. All of their group has been mentioned at some point, there's obviously Lily and Marlene, then there's Alice Prevett who's been dating Frank Longbottom in the year above since third year, she broke a Slytherin's nose after he insulted her muggle-born friend Mary McDonald. Mary and Dorcas Meadows caused the draught of the living death to explode in Slughorn's classroom and killed all his beloved rare plants during a detention they were serving with him in second or third year, it was pretty funny. And then there's Kathryn who for a dare had to confound Mulciber, one of the so-called 'hardcore' Slytherins in our year last year to dance to this obscene song in the Great Hall. It was hilarious.'

'How early on were you and your friends mention by her? I know she calls you guys her favourites.'

'You see Ella, while Lily was the first first year to be mentioned by Wicked Witch, Sirius was the second. That's the blast she made immediately after the one about Lily. She mentioned how he was irony personified, calling him the 'black sheep of the Black family'. James came right after that, he like Marlene was a shoe in just due to family reputation. But Marlene's family reputation is nothing compared to the Potters. They're one of the oldest, richest, most powerful pureblood families. You saw his house; well it's more of a bloody mansion, in Sirius' start of term picture. His father's in the Wizarding politics, he was the English ambassador to Bulgaria during Grindelwald's time and now he's on the board of governors of Hogwarts, the advisory cabinet to the Minister for Magic and the Wizarding Congress, that's our law making body around here. Believe me, it's not just Wicked Witch's media James is under. His family makes all these massive donations to St. Mungos where his mother was the chairwoman before retired.'

'Can you show me?' she asked eagerly, clearly she was no longer interested in he potions work.

'Sure' Remus smiled and he said the appropriate things to find the blast

It started where Lily's blast ended. '_Wonder what is L's boy's name, but, ugh, who cares. But while we're on the subject of first years breaking tradition here we have it Hogwarts, the black sheep of the Black family. Always an outcast I see_ (and the smoke changed to show Sirius sat there at the Gryffindor table in the spotlight like Lily and Marlene had at the start of term feast). _But Gryffindor has welcomed Slytherin's most unwanted with open arms, at least Golden Boy Potter has with suggestive mess of bed-hair, wink wink girls, but with friends like these, who needs armies _(and the smoke changed from Sirius to James kicking an older, perhaps a second or third year Slytherin where it hurt and the boy doubling over in pain)_? You know you love me XOXO Wicked Witch'_

'They all made it back to back?'

'Pretty much, after that any pranks James, Sirius, Peter and I pulled were broadcasted'. Remus looked at his watch, 'Ella it's getting late and I have to meet my friends before dinner, you haven't got much more to do, just the conclusion so let's work on that okay, you've had enough story time' he smiled.

It took another half or for Ella to perfect her essay and Remus to proof read it a number of times before he was completely satisfied with it. He left with a quick goodbye realising that he had read the time wrong earlier and that he was late for his rendezvous with his friends. Remus had just reached the centre, a junction that was the busiest area of Hogwarts aside from the Great Hall that seemed to have quite an audience, he pushed past to see what the matter was and stopped near the front to see writing on the wall. Bold and italicised written in purple was the rhyme:

'_**Riddle riddle on the wall, who'll be the first to fall? **_

_**Fall from grace that is…You know you love me**_

_**XOXO Wicked Witch'**_

'What could that be about', Remus wondered aloud as he continued his brief journey from the library to the statue of the one-eyed witch where James and Sirius stood waiting for him.

'Where have you been?' James asked as Sirius opened up the secret passageway to Honeydukes

'Library, I was tutoring this first year about potions and I just lost track of time' he answered

'You lost track of time doing potions?' Sirius said incredulously as he clambered down into the passageway

'No I was in there to help her do potions, but she saw Lily Evans and Kathryn Everett come in and asked about Wicked Witch's interest in her friendships and I told her about Wicked Witch's history with Lily and then she asked about us…'

'Oh speaking of the Witch did you see her little message about riddles? Wonder what that's about.' Said James as he turned around to seal the passageway behind his two friends

'We'll find out at dinner, it's not like she waits a while to spill things. Why is Pete not here?' said Sirius

'Detention, remember, he set some kid on fire in the hallway, that was funny.' Chucked Remus and the three friends walked along the passageway to Honeydukes.

Had the boys waited so much as a minute longer they would have seen two Gryffindor girls walking down the hallway deep in discussion

'I was hoping they would have sorted whatever it was out by now' said Alice

'They've never gone thins long without speaking to each other' Dorcas said, 'civilly, I mean', she added at Alice's look. In truth Marlene had been somewhat of a bully towards Lily lately and never failed to insult her.

'I'm guessing there's a guy involved' Alice said

'But they've never let any guy come between them before, remember when Lily went on a couple of dates with Jake Lawrence and then found out that Marlene liked him she broke it off'.

'Fact is that they still care about each other. No matter how mad Marlene is at Lily for whatever it is that she's done she'd die before letting anything happen to her best friend'.

'What are you suggesting?' Dorcas looked at Alice seeing an idea in her eyes

'I think we need help from Potter and Black' she said simply and Dorcas stopped in her tracks

'No, Alice, we're not that desperate, they can't be trusted, remember that time they charmed Mary's broom to fly to the whoomping willow in first year'

'Dorcas they were aiming for Snape' Alice explained

'And he's a friend of Lily's, and it's still wrong'

'Dorcas when it comes to Snape and friend of Lily's is not a friend of ours, especially when his friends attacked Mary last year, the only muggle-born in the world he's willing to defend is Lily, and I appreciate that but I don't like the fact that it ends there.'

'I know what you mean, but it's not only the prejudiced they attack, remember that Hufflepuff Kathryn dated?'

'Yes, and as I recall he cheated on her so they humiliated him'

'As I remember Wicked Witch then used it as something to imply that Kathryn was inadequate, if they'd just told her then she could have dealt with it privately, but no they had to announce it to the world, and Kathryn's a private person'

'Dorcas their methods are wrong but the intention is generally pure' said Alice, keen to convince her friend, 'with the occasional spot here and there' she added seeing Dorcas' look when she had said pure.

'Well if you're intent upon using them, remember the prank they played on the Slytherin boys last year where they were locked in a broom closet till they made out with each other-'

'The one at the end of year feast that Wicked Witch broadcasted live-'

'Yeah, we could use that, but not quite the same, just till they've reconciled-'

'And not have it broadcasted and then we can send Wicked Witch the message that they're back and she can lift her little gossip curse'

'But we need the others for it, I know that Lily and Marley want to keep the fight between just them but it's affecting us all'

'I know, we'll get them before dinner and then we'll need to find the guys but that will probably have to be in a place where neither Lily nor Marlene can see us' Dorcas finished and the girls stalked off to find their other two friends that had to be included to make this plan work.

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Thank you for reading.

I apologise for this chapter being predominantly dialogue and about the past but I think it's important to set in perspective why the students are the way the are in relation to each other.

Review please, you know you want to! ;)


	3. I Know What You Did This Summer

Disclaimer: The world of Hogwarts and any recognisable characters, descriptions, scenarios etc, belong to JKR and the concept and some dialogues of the character Wicked Witch belong to the makers of Gossip Girl

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Author's Note: A _BIG_ thank you to **Perdyprincess**, **Magic is out there** and **ShortChink** for reviewing and everyone who put an alert for this story. Much appreciated. And really sorry about the long wait- it's something I plan to work on in the near future.

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Amidst the hustle and bustle of the corridor four boys stood, carelessly aloof to their surroundings. The crowd around them was gone now as more and more people got to class yet they showed no sign of moving. In an incident with Snape last night one of the greenhouses had ended up on fire leading to Herbology being cancelled the following day, however the icing on top of the cake had been Snape ending up being the scapegoat. Life was sweet when you were James Potter.

_'Spotted: A scandal alight. A greenhouse lit with flames and lonely boy in for a detention. So when pranks take a new level we know what time it is- a Marauder's birthday. They're as lucky as they are talented, and because they're such good liars, they can get away with playing with fire'_

It was also wonderful that the anonymous gossiper loved to side with him and his friends. Snape had come to try and prank James and Sirius while they tried setting off fireworks to wish Peter a happy birthday during the dinner feast, they had hoped that the enchanted ceiling would show the display, if not that then they had had a plan B. Snape had cursed Sirius causing him to set off the fireworks in the general direction of the greenhouses. Sirius himself was plunged into the air and fell hard on his stomach, in much pain unable to get up immediately. James however began duelling with Snape himself, while Snape was truly talented with a wand, James had talent as well as physical advantage, dodging a curse he'd flung himself on Snape, going old school, then petrifying him and leaving him to be found by the teachers that were already pouring out to try and find the cause of the disruption. By the time the teachers, namely McGonagall, Slughorn, Sprout and Flitwick reached the scene of the crime James and Sirius were safely under James' invisibility cloak and James had lifted the _'Petrificus Totalus' _charm off of Snape who unbeknownst to the teachers got up, looked around and upon finding himself alone ran towards the castle and unintentionally into the teachers. And even though Wicked Witch had told who had really done it there was no proof to go on, an anonymous gossip howler was hardly a credible source.

'Honeydukes?' he said flashing his crooked smile as his glistening eyes danced with mischief, there was a murmur of agreement as the four made their way towards the one-eyed witch's statue. They wanted to try out the fireworks properly. They were about to turn into the hallway where the passageway was hidden when a voice yelled from behind. 'Potter, Black, Lupin, Pettigrew, wait'. The boys turned to see the tall athletic Dorcas meadows jog towards them with the round-faced Alice Prevett at her heel.

'Meadows, Prevett', Sirius acknowledged nodding at them in turn as the girls came within conversing distance. A brief awkward silence settled over the six students. While Gryffindor's prided themselves on their unity the four boys opted to remain exclusive, while their other housemates mixed with those outside their immediate friends group, in short, it was peaceful co-existence.

'We need your help' Alice bluntly stated bringing the awkward atmosphere to an end replacing it with that of curiosity and lack of surety.

'What lesson are you struggling with?' Remus asked assuming the obvious, the relationship this _it_ girl group had with these boys was strictly academic.

'Not that kind of help', Dorcas said impatiently, 'Do you remember that broom closet prank with the Slytherins?'

'Good times', James smiled in remembrance though the smile did not reach his eyes, he felt impatient, itching to get his hands on those sweets, he was having a sugar rush, and perhaps later he would got go get some butterbeer.

'We need you to use that, on Lily and Marlene'

'You want us to get them to make out?' Peter asked stupidly. He was not the brightest person.

'No, we want them to make up' Alice clarified noticing the James and Sirius' attention suddenly being perked up at the words 'make out', what men found so attractive in female homosexuality she would never understand.

'So if you could give us the information about how you did it, it'd be great' Dorcas finished on a hopeful note

'Meadows, why would we help?' James asked, the seriousness of his face indicated the need for a genuinely good answer

'Because they're in a stupid fight and neither of them is willing to be the first one to talk it through-' Alice began

'The entire school knows that, Prevett', Sirius interrupted

'They've also spent every breath hurling insults at each other', Remus said remembering quiet mutterings from the girls' table in front of him in Transfiguration.

'That's because they're angry-' Dorcas began

'Why would we make the effort to help those who do not bear a shred of loyalty to each other?' James said. True he was a troublemaker, a player and the resident bad boy, but nothing stood in the way of James Potter and his loyalty to his friends, therefore understandably to him it was important that those he helped shared even the tiniest drop of his most important ideal.

'They would rather die than let anything happen to each other' Dorcas said, and it appeared that was exactly the answer the four boys were looking for. They looked at each other and nodded

'We'll help' Remus said and the girls let out deep sighs of relief, 'but we won't give you the spell'. Dorcas and Alice looked at him questioningly.

'Then how are we supposed to get them together again?' Alice inquired glaring at Remus, her angry gaze daring him to come up with one good reason why he wouldn't give them the spell

'It's our trick, our plan, it's only fair we get to supervise it' Sirius answered

'No, you'll sell the whole thing out to Wicked Witch, this needs to be done privately', Dorcas argued

'No, we won't. We like to brag about our pranks not our philanthropy' James answered arrogantly. Had any one they had not desperately sought out help for referred to helping their friends as philanthropy the girls would have given them a backhanded slap, but this was different, they had to suck up their pride and put up with it.

'They will never talk it through knowing you lot will be listening in, do the spell or spells and let us supervise' Alice tried to negotiate.

'No, we do this by our rules and that means no one but us four' Remus stated.

'They won't talk knowing you lot are listening' Alice repeated

'Do you really think we're that blunt?' Sirius asked looking almost insulted. The girls chose no to answer.

'Most confessions come out when things are left to chance' Peter grinned and the four boys simultaneously turned around to continue their itinerary for Honeydukes leaving the girls in their wake.

Needless to say, Dorcas and Alice were annoyed and frustrated, why those four chose to be so exclusive they'd never understand. They walked in silence not wasting breath for mindless chatter. The rest of the day went without event comprising of the simple mundane tasks associated with student life- homework, lessons, lunch, and more homework until finally dinnertime came and the entire student body made their way down to the great hall. Where dinner commenced with nothing out of the ordinary happening- which in itself was in fact, something out of the ordinary until the signature howler flew in and the enchanted ceiling changed to reveal the infamous logo of the much loved and hated Wicked Witch…

'_Wicked Witch here, your one and only source into the scandalous lives of Hogwarts elite. While the world waits for the future to unravel the mysteries of the present I dug into the past for the origins, after all, history is gossip well told. Seasons come and go but drama is everlasting but often in life people forget themselves in these situations, or in some cases, their morals_ (the signature WW logo on the enchanted ceiling changed to show a picture of Marlene McKinnon kissing a man easily recognisable as the married heir to the cauldron producing multi-million galleon enterprise: David Benedict. It was captioned: We know young girls like older men, but married?)._ Though while M was getting it on with one of Wizarding England's finest, it seems L committed her own form of treachery, though her's has taken a toll on her permanent record _(replacing the evidence of Marlene's summer affair was a picture of Lily on the floor of a grey, depressing room that appeared to be barred- easily recognisable as a muggle prison cell. It was captioned: Gryffindor's convict). _Turns out the good girls have gone bad, let's see if they'll get any worse. You know you love me XOXO. Wicked Witch_

The Great Hall was in a state of deafening gossip, prior to the blast people had been chatting happily with their friends whereas now people muttered about two pretty girls as they hopelessly tried to avoid people's judging gazes and uncloaked resentment of their summer activities. But clearly there is only so much negative attention one can take so in under a minute both Lily and Marlene, in their own time as their personal threshold of public scrutiny was reached, got up and left with every eye in the Great Hall following, openly judging and loudly discussing.

'I suggest we trap them tonight' Remus said, the four boys had been dumbstruck by the revelation. Neither of the girls was stupid enough to get caught up in the situations they clearly had done over in the summer. The other three nodded and proceeded to exit the Great Hall taking advantage of the fact that almost no one would notice them leaving so unusually early in the wake of the blast

'Remus and I will get Evans and McKinnon and the two of you can start working on the spell'. Peter said taking the initiative as they boys exited the loud hall whipping out the Marauders Map from his pocket and James touched his wand to it speaking the words of the Marauders' code of conduct.

'I solemnly swear I am up to no good', and the map revealed itself showing the two girls taking different routes to the Gryffindor common room.

'That makes getting them together easier' Sirius said studying the positions on the map.

'They'll be here soon so we need to hurry. Peter, you go and stall McKinnon; Remus, you stall Evans, It won't take long for us to set up so stall them for a minute or less and then go into the common room. Don't walk in the same direction as them, go the opposite way, say you wanted to see if they were okay after the blast and are going back to the hall' James told two of his friends and thy ran off to do their share. 'Sirius you go and get my invisibility cloak, I'll place the two way mirror in the closet we chose'.

And the other two boys ran off taking the same route till they reached the turning by the Gryffindor tower where the selected broom closet was situated. James stopped there, fumbling in his pockets looking for the mirror. Once he found it and he levitated it arranging it on the supply shelf that lied the far wall at an angle so every inch of the closet could be seen. In the time that took him to reach the optimal position Sirius had returned with the cloak. Now the two boys waited, studying the map for their prey to approach the turning. The map showed Remus had left Evans now and was on his way to the tower, Peter was still speaking to McKinnon. It wasn't a long wait; Evans was close to the turning.

'Three…two…one' Sirius counted and as soon as Evans turned the corner he whispered '_Lumos Maxima_' blinding the unsuspecting girl and James whispered '_Petrificus Totalus_' placing her in a body bind while her face was covered by her eyes.

Sirius caught her before she hit the ground and James levitated her still body in complete silence to the closet so she wouldn't know who her attackers were. They placed her lightly on the closet floor and closed the door behind her. Never before had the Marauders taken so much care in the treatment of their targets. Had it been anyone that was not a Gryffindor they would most likely have used Stupefy and let the body hit the ground hard and laugh about how it was going to be sore when they woke up. Studying the map they were pleased to see that McKinnon wasn't too close from the turning to run into them nor too far to make them wait. Infact the timing was luckily so perfect that they had time to compose themselves and prepare in lie of wait for her. Remus was in the common room and Peter was nearly there.

'Three…two…one' Sirius counted like before and they performed the exact same method to capture the brunette as they had done to the redhead a minute or two ago.

This time they locked the broom closet behind them so no one could open it from the inside and placing the _Muffliato_ spell on the door so no one would be draw towards it from the inevitable screaming and yelling that was about to ensue from the tiny room. Simultaneously they used the _Rennervate_ and _Immobulus_ spells to release the girls from the body bind but temporarily immobilise them immediately to keep the fighting at bay till the boys returned to the common room to watch the drama unfurl…

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Author's Note: Once again, sorry about the lateness of this chapter. By the way in case people are wondering when the famous Lily/James fights will start, all that stuff is coming soon.

Review, you know you want to!


	4. There's Something About Lily

Disclaimer: The world of Hogwarts and any recognisable characters, descriptions, scenarios etc, belong to JKR and the concept and some dialogues of the character Wicked Witch belong to the makers of Gossip Girl

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Author's Note: Thank you for the reviews and putting an alert out and / or making it your favourite- really does mean a lot :D.

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'How are we getting out of here?' Marlene groaned. The girls had tried every spell they knew to release them- but to no avail.

'Wait till someone comes this way and opens the door for us' Lily answered patiently. James noticed how neither girl wanted to meet the other's eyes, seemed like a common problematic scenario wasn't going to stir their friendship, an intervention may be necessary.

'Fine, HELP I'M STUCK IN A BROOM CLOSET WITH SOMEONE WHO SUCKS THE JOY OUT OF THE ROOM!' Marlene yelled loudly.

'Oh shut up!' Lily scoffed, 'you suck the air out the room!' Marlene ignored her, huffed and sat down in the other corner.

'This is ridiculous, everyone thinks I'm an adulteress and I'm stuck here with you while you quietly judge me'

'You brought that on yourself, and people don't think that you're an adulteress, they _know_. Also, I'd rather be anywhere but here too'.

'Better than being a convict' she snapped. 'I actually hate you' Marlene added quietly and Lily looked up. For the first time James saw hurt on her face. Unmasked raw hurt.

'You hate me?' she asked in a quiet voice, the vulnerability of it was carefully concealed but it was clear from her expressive eyes that she was on the verge of breaking, one would have to be heartless to reply a 'yes' to her question.

'No' Marlene said, not having looked up from her lap after her last comment, 'not even if I tried. I could never hate you', she was quiet for a moment and Lily sat up straighter to look at the vulnerable brunette in front of her. 'I was just mad at how right you were when you said I didn't have a moral compass…'

'Marlene don't…' Lily interjected only to be interrupted herself

'Don't, Lily, don't give me a heartwarming speech about how good a person I am; I'm not. I was so mad at you for being right'. She was tearing up by now. 'My brother found out and he told my mother, and she…she (Marlene paused to compose herself, it was emotional for her to speak of it), she threw me out'

'What? Where did you go?'

'I got the Knight Bus and went to the Leaky Cauldron and rented a room'.

'You should have come to me, you know I would have helped'

'I thought about it. But then I remembered what we said to each other and I thought against it. I couldn't stand the judgement of anyone. I wrote you a letter, I even carry it around sometimes wondering if we'd have been friends if I'd sent it off' Marlene said taking a crumpled up piece of paper put of her robes and began reading. 'Dear Lily, My world is falling apart. My family knows about the affair. They unanimously threw me out giving me only an hour to pack. I'm homeless, I have nowhere to go and no one willing to take care of me, I need you, I need my best friend, Love Marlene'. She sniffed as she wiped a tear that slowly tricked down her cheeks and Lily crawled over to hug her, holding her close and tight.

'Why didn't you send it?'

'Because, like you said earlier, I brought it on myself'

'Marlene, the worst thing you've ever done, the darkest thought you've ever had...I will stand by you through anything'.

The sincerity in her yes was frightening. The truth of her words was moving. And none of the boys knew they would never look at her like she was just another girl again. She was fiercely loyal and fiercely defensive. Traits that each of them valued above all others.

'Why?'

'Because, you're my best friend. And I love you. Marlene you're like my sister, and with our families, we need each other'

'And at the mention of families you have me thinking, didn't your politician grandfather or high profile mother manage to pull some strings to get you out of whatever it is you did to get into jail before anyone found out?'

'My grandfather was in France, and my mother was the one who threw me in there in the first place-' Lily started

'Come again? You're the mother? The one who'll do anything to protect her image? Lily the woman won't let you take the family car to King's Cross so people won't suspect that you're not at some boarding school in Switzerland!' Marlene exclaimed

'Well, I brought it on myself', Lily replied. Marlene looked at her friend questioningly. 'I found something. Something my mother didn't want anyone to know. She'd written letters to Dumbledore, telling him to have me taken out of Hogwarts because it was getting hard to explain to the non-magic people in our lives.'

'That's ridiculous'

'She offered him a pension in return for my expulsion'.

'Dumbledore said 'no' right?'

'Yeah he did, I wouldn't be here otherwise. I was so mad at her. I told her I was going to go to dad, he was in York at the time because his mother was ill and dad had always supported my magic- he didn't worry about society and that crap'

'So how did you end up in jail?'

'I called a taxi, it was supposed to take me to the train station and I was going to go to York from there, but on the way my mum called the police. She didn't want dad getting involved so she told them that I'd stolen her private letters that had confidential information I don't give mum enough credit, she took down all the information she could about the cab before calling the police'.

'A) Your mother seems ruthless. B) That's crazy, just because she didn't want to get in a fight with her husband? Surely she'd have to face him afterwards?'

'Actually no, mum has a lot of friends, really powerful friends, they were the ones that stopped the taxi over and brought me in. It's not going to go on my permanent record, I don't think dad still knows.'

'What happened after they pulled you over?'

'They went through my bag, found the letters addressed to my mum and took me in, half and hour later my mum and sister came to bail me out and to spite them I decided not to go with them…' Lily finished. She was smiling at how silly and childish her decision sounded

'You decided to spite your mother and sister by staying in a prison cell while they spent the night at their penthouse?'

'It wasn't my finest hour' Lily replied laughing at the incredulous look on Marlene's face and it wasn't long before the blue eyed beauty joined her green eyed best friend in the comic aspect of spiting parents.

'Who got you out?' Marlene asked, the sorrow that had masked her face while she'd her story had gone, the concern in her eyes upon Lily's story had disappeared, it was all replaced by a sparkle that since the beginning of term had been missing. It was obvious- these girls had painfully missed each other.

'My grandfather…he heard about it from mum as she ranted about how bad I was and he took the ferry to England the next morning and bailed me out around noon. My mum had told him that I had been doing drugs, so they sent me to some rehabilitation center in Calais. I was in solitary confinement for the rest of the summer and had to undergo counciling that I didn't need'.

'Cheerful.' Marlene smiled

'Did your parents or brother contact you afterwards?'

'Yeah, dad came looking for me a few weeks later. He said mum was willing to have me come back but I was grounded. I didn't have any better prospects and so I took the offer and spent the rest of the summer in the presence of painful patronisation and unwanted comments, it wasn't very nice but I wasn't in a position to ask for anything on the matter'

'Well my family congratulated me on being sober once summer was over, so it wasn't very pleasant playing along to it'.

'This is going to sound so petty but…did Snape know? About any of it?' Marlene asked slowly. Marlene and Snape had a very competitive relationship when it came to Lily. They always wanted to be the first to be confided in, the first to know anything about her.

'No, he knows nothing, no one knows anything' Lily said and Marlene's smile and A look of pure glee was etched on her face. 'My sister took it upon herself to file a restraining order against him so if he comes within a hundred feet of my house the muggle police will get him'

Marlene was laughing so hard she had trouble breathing and so were the boys for that matter. Anyone who knew about Lily Evans' magic hating sister hated her as deeply as she hated them, but suddenly the boys felt an overwhelming sense of respect for the horse-faced girl.

'I've never liked your sister, but that was pure genius' Marlene continued laughing and even Lily let a small laugh escape her lips.

'I think it's time we let them out' Remus said, he didn't want this to become an invasion of privacy. Peter nodded and began to get up but the other two boys showed no sign of moving. They were utterly mesmerised.

'James, Sirius. We can't listen in like that, it's wrong, we've done what we were asked to do' Peter reprimanded and Sirius was snapped out of his reverie and following a punch in the arm from Remus so was James.

Dinner would soon be coming to a close so they had to wrap up quickly. They walked by the closet making plenty of noise through loud conversation making it clear to the girls that there were potential rescuers outside. As they had predicted there was loud banging on the door with the unmistakable plea of 'Get us out of here' and being the kind foursome they were, they obliged.

Sirius opened the door and not expecting the sudden result Marlene ended up banging his chest with her fists and Lily who had been unwisely stood in the general direction of where the second door opened was hit in the forehead by it as James had pushed it open. So as the doors opened to reveal the girls the boys were greeted by a 'Sorry, Black' from Marlene and a loud 'Ouch' from Lily as she collided with the hard stone wall of the broom closet upon contact with the heavy door.

'Evans, are you okay?' Peter called as he came forward to help her up

'I'm fine yes, thank you' she said quickly regaining her composure in nanoseconds with a smile.

'I'm surprised the two of you are alive after being in a closet together', Remus said- he was the architect of deception. He knew exactly how to get the scent of the Marauders' trails grow cold so it was no surprise that every time they got made it was due to a hairline flaw in the plan not the clean up afterwards.

'Yes well, that's in the past now' Marlene said and she took Lily's arm and the girls went off towards the Gryffindor merrily, not a care in their world.

…

It was breakfast and James Potter who was usually a morning person was drowsy. It was worrying his friends and it was worrying him. James usually fell asleep easily but the night before he spent tossing and turning. He had some form of underlying irritation- something he wanted to be rid of but he had no idea what it was. It was as if the part of his brain the induced rational thought had disappeared. It was as if he needed to ponder over something very important and sort that out in his life but he didn't know what…

A howler flew in and he looked up with curiosity- morning post was not Wicked Witch's style…

'_Wicked Witch here, your one and only source into the scandalous lives of Hogwarts' elite. Morning Hogwarts, I bet your wondering what Wicked Witch is doing up so early. Truth is I never went to bed why waste precious time dreaming when waking life is so much better. Spotted in a dusty closet: two princesses waving the white flag_ (the signature logo changed to reveal a picture of Marlene and Lily hugging. It was captioned 'Can a nation really have two crown princesses? We'll wait and see'). _While these two hotties worked, a turn out a storm was brewing and as per usual I was there to investigate. Spotted: dark clouds hovering over the owlery as SA and LE go their separate ways. Turns out Aldringham doesn't date convicts _(a different picture replaced Marlene and Lily's reconciliation. It was one of Sebastian and Lily in a love heart that was split in the middle representing the and of their nearly three year long relationship. It was captioned: Through thick and thin? Sure. If they can't make it, is there any chance for us mere mortals?)_. You win some you lose some, eh L? But prison or no prison, there are plenty willing to overlook that inconvenience L, just don't make Lonely Boy your new beau, the fabulous seem more your type. And who am I? That's a secret I'll never tell. You know you love me. XOXO Wicked Witch'_

So Evans was available, as was Aldringham. It was a good day for the closet lovers of the two elites.

…

It was lunchtime and James was in the library. He'd decided to skip lunch opting for four cups of black coffee instead, he needed to finish the research for becoming animagi, it was a crucial project and they could not afford mistakes but the pressure was too much. With his growing panic that they would never get the transfiguration right, the approaching OWLs, and his lack of sleep. It was too much and he sighed in frustration cradling his head between his elbows on the hard wooden library table. He looked up and noticed her…he had been since last night.

He didn't know her at all and it annoyed him with himself at that fact. She was more like him than he had known. What she had said to Marlene the night before about standing by her best friend- it had moved him. It had taken him back to second year when he and his friends had discovered Remus' secret and that night when Remus had confided in James every thought that he had when under the influence of the full moon. '_I feel a need to kill' _Remus had said- his face had been blotched with tears and his eyes red. James remembered using almost the exact same words: '_you're the best person I know. Not even a curse such as this can make you a monster, and whatever thought, whatever urge you have, I will never judge you on it. And I will stand by you through it- whatever it takes Remus we'll do it'_.

Her red hair was tied back into a ponytail, her eyes were moving as she read the charms book probably writing the essay that had been set earlier today. Why wasn't she at lunch? She was pretty he noticed- very pretty. _And available_. A voice called in the back of his mind and he shook himself. No girls, no. No distractions. He looked down at the collection of books he had open before him- staring at them praying something went in, but to no avail. He glanced back up. He'd had many flings. Many girls. But none were like her. Admittedly she had been exclusive to Aldringham and now James finally saw what was so special in her that kept a very well known pureblooded wizard coming back to her.

She was composed; her face never betrayed anything. Her eyes however were expressive. They told stories. He hair was vibrant- it begged attention. Her features individually could be classified as nothing out of the norm but together the overall look of her was so likeable and…appealing? He shook himself again. Blaming his distracted thought process on the coffee. But despite himself looked up again to study the unique person sat not too far away from him. Not only did she have looks, but brains as well. It was a lethal combination. And besides all of that she had background. He'd known that for a while though. The boys had dedicated the summer before fourth year to stalking Snape. They had found him entering the Ritz, London. Remus being halfblooded knew of the muggle lifestyle and told them about how the Ritz was a place for the rich and the glamorous- everything that Snape was obviously not. So they had gone in to investigate and it had been revealed that Evans' family had been staying there, something about their penthouse being refurbished. Her father was a doctor- the muggle equivalent of a healer and her mother was, in search for a better word, a trophy wife. Someone who was known for two things- the money of her father (a political figure who was now retired in Calais, France) and the money of her husband. She had a sister- someone who hated magic but had also passed a restraining order against Snivellus. Petunia Evans was conniving and a selfish, self-righteous genius. Had she been magic, she would have fit right in with the mean girls. Lily Evans however- seemed a breadth of fresh air in that respect.

Absentmindedly he doodled LE on his parchment, glancing up to look at her every now and then, unaware to the scowling gaze upon him from a black-haired boy from behind a bookshelf…

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Yay! So now we're FINALLY getting on track to the fun part where the LJ love/hate relationship starts!

Caz: To be honest, I haven't actually thought that far ahead. But now that you've mentioned it I'll certainly try and work other pairings into this- fact is I'm literally developing th character profiles as I go along, when I began writing this all I'd thought about were the names

Thank you for reading. Review!

PS: I really need constructive feedback- the whole point of this fanfic is for me to try and develop my writing skills and try and entertain. Anything would be great!


	5. The Other Stanford Girl

Disclaimer: The world of Hogwarts and any recognisable characters, descriptions, scenarios etc, belong to JKR and the concept and some dialogues of the character Wicked Witch belong to the makers of Gossip Girl

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Severus Snape was a possessive person. He was also obsessive, controlling and insatiably jealous. He had come to the library to look for a book on the dark arts not expecting to see his childhood friend sat alone reading a book. He had to be careful- he'd never let her know of the inclination he had towards the dark arts. He planned on hiding the book in his bag and go over to talk to her. After nearly three years of planning, she was finally single. Despite what anyone or that Marauder loving Wicked _Bitch_ said, nothing could come between him and Lily. But as he walked closer he noticed some one else. Potter.

Immediately he began to scowl. The arrogant bully never failed to humiliate him. And he was sat just there and he was…staring…at Lily…_____his _Lily.

Snape's scowl deepened. He needed a way to eliminate Potter as competition.

He never thought he'd dislike Lily for anything, but he did. She was too pretty. She was too giving. And she had that unattractive feature of being a Gryffindor. All factors that made her appealing to others. Too appealing to others. But why was suddenly Potter interested? He was known for opting for older girls. There probably wasn't a single sixth or seventh year (not belonging to Slytherin) that at some point hadn't gone with him to Hogsmeade or something.

He needed to do something. Whatever it took, Lily was not going to be Potter's. He'd rather she'd be with Aldringham than Potter. Any option was better than that arrogant pig.

…

'Gabrielle!' The sixth year Ravenclaw turned around to be greeted by the unsightly appearance of Snape

'What do you want, grease ball?' She sneered.

'I have a proposition. You and I have a common agenda- to get even.' Gabrielle's attention was suddenly undivided.

'I'm listening' she said

'Your sister convinced your boyfriend to break up with you, but he never committed to her. But you want her to feel that sting of betrayal. There is someone she has a past with and really has cared for. As I remember she was crushed when he abruptly broke up with her'.

'Potter?' Severus nodded in reply. 'What are you saying?'

'I'm saying. Do what she did to you. Only you won't be labelled a slag because Potter's single and therefore available to any one. Get him, and hurt your sister.'

'What's in it for you?'

'The chance to maximise the prospect of a non-Gryffindor Quidditch championship' Snape lied easily

'We have Aldringham as captain this year, we don't have to worry about anything', Gabby said rolling her eyes

'And Gryffindor has Potter as captain- he breaths Quidditch, Stanford', why the entire Hogwarts population was so obsessed with this pointless sport, he'd never understand. But for once Quidditch was serving a greater purpose than enlarging Potter's ego.

'I'll think about it' Gabrielle conceded. But Snape's plan involved everything to be done and dusted, he couldn't afford Gabrielle's gossiping ways and her need to discuss everything with her posse.

'Think about it? Stanford, do you think your sister thought about it before she betrayed you? Do you think your ex cared about those sleepless nights you spent crying over his unfaithfulness? I'm offering you a chance to get back at them and you want to think about it?' Snape's sudden outburst left Gabby speechless and hurt. No matter how hard she pretended to be unfazed by her single status due to her sister, the hurt was still ever present. And she didn't know why she couldn't just put it behind her. But revenge was something she hadn't yet tried…

'What if Julie poses as a problem during this plan?' Gabrielle suggested

'Don't worry about her' Snape said. Gabrielle may have been an infamous gossip but she was no fool

'That's a bit vague don't you think? By dating Potter I can control him and you don't want to tell me how you plan to eliminate the greatest liability in this flawed plan of yours?'

'I have a potion, it won't harm her, just make her bald possibly- but nothing a hair growth potion cannot fix'. Gabrielle nodded. She liked this. She liked it a lot.

The teenagers shook on it.

…

Severus was proud of himself. His cunning nature was a wonderful asset to him. But there was more that needed to be done.

'Julianne' he called and the other Stanford girl turned around to look at the unpopular Slytherin

'What do you want Lonely Boy?' she said completely uninterested

'I have a proposition for you' he began. 'A chance to re-establish your popularity at Hogwarts'. Julie's eyes flashed interestedly.

'A) How and B) what's in it for you?'

'Evans and Aldringham have finally split- there's a reason that she's so popular and that no one has dared utter a bad word about her. Aldringham protected her throughout and let's face it; not every girl has that blessing. She was in prison this summer yet no one openly ridicules her; it's only because she's been with him that she's now untouchable. If you were, so to speak, with him- imagine what that would do to people's treatment towards you…' he fed her the prospect easily and she absorbed it

'Aldringham isn't exactly the most high profile guy…' Julianne started

'-But he is a seventh year, the team captain of the Ravenclaw Quidditch team, he could make you a princess of Hogwarts,' Snape interrupted.

'I could be queen next year' she said, her ambition sparkling in her brown eyes.

'It would help bring your sister down', Severus added to her ambitious thought process.

'What do you gain from it?' she asked him

'Your sister's downfall is a gain for any one…she hasn't been as cordial as you have towards me. We are just two mere people with a common enemy'

'My enemy's enemy is my friend' she smiled. These girls were so easily manipulated Snape thought. How they got into Ravenclaw he's never understand.

The best thing about the plan for Snape was that no one would admit that they were working with him- he was therefore the unknown quantity to a series of cascade reactions.

…

The next morning the six Gryffindor fifth year girls were happily walking to the Great Hall for breakfast, chatting about one of the most popular topics amongst all females- boys. Marlene had embarked on a relationship with a seventh year Hufflepuff and they were all gushing at her fortune to have 'landed' one of the most good looking older boys in the school.

'Speaking of boyfriends Lily, when are you making your debut back into the dating world?' Mary said as she spotted her own beau down the hallway.

'I'm going to wait a while, get some closure' she said to which Marlene and Mary voiced much resistance

'Actually I think getting closure's a good idea', Alice intervened

'Yeah, it's to show zero awkwardness after a break-up', Dorcas started, 'but you see Hon, break-ups are easy, the hard part is the aftermath- so I'm helping you show the world that you are back- you're not moping and you're ready to have fun!'

'But I am having fun'

'I'm going to throw you a party!' Marlene said suddenly. 'A welcome back on the market party'

'You make me sound like some new and improved item being launched'

'To be fair you are this new and improved "item"' Kathryn said making air quotes at the word 'item'. 'You're older, smarter, hotter and newly single. If I was going to the island of lesbians- I'd pick you to come with me' the girls laughed.

'An Icebreaker Party!' Dorcas exclaimed.

'Icebreaker?' Lily asked amusedly

'Yes to show the male population and perhaps some females in case Kathryn decides she wants you (she looked pointedly at Kathryn who laughed), that you are available and no longer Aldringham's girl'.

'What happened to the closure idea, Dorcas?' Alice asked

'Guys, the point is whoever dates first wins and with your ex being the "one-woman" Sebastian Aldringham, you win by default, Lily', Dorcas laughed

Lily laughed, 'fine throw the party'.

'This weekend…I'm thinking Astronomy Tower…' Marlene began

'House elves to cater the guests…' Mary added

'A menu of party food and lots of butterbeer for the younger and non alcoholic people and loads of firewhiskey for the rest of us…' Kathryn winked

'Dressed code: sexy?' Dorcas said looking pointedly at Lily

'A dance floor' Alice added

'What do you say, Miss Prefect?' Mary smiled knowing what the answer was going to be.

'I think it sounds brilliant!' Lily laughed. She was so lucky to have incredible friends that would stand by her through anything

'YES!' The girls exclaimed

Lily liked to abide by the rules but she loved a good party as much as the next person so every now and then she would let lose and break a couple to have a good time, but never at the expense of others and therefore he found the antics of Potter, Black, Lupin and Pettigrew disagreeable, but when it came to security ofr a party to avoid detention she knew they were the only ones with the expertise.

…

It was Friday night and everyone who was anyone was buzzing with excitement. The party was going to be HUGE. The guest list amounted to some fifty people somehow. The girls had gotten the four troublemakers to ensure the event would not be discovered by Filch and so they had planted a series of stink bombs to go off at particular corners of the castle far from the party so Filch would not find them. A series of silencing charms and disillusionment spells had been used to make the event as secretive as possible. While people knew there was a party, few knew where it was. A person was selected from each house to guide the guests over and a password was involved. Security needed to be immaculate. It was a standard drill for such parties and the hassle always proved worth the fun.

It was thirty minutes to the party and the girls were ready. They were dressed up simply- the epitome of 'less is more'. Their make up only comprised of some tinted moisturiser for foundation; black eye liner and mascara; some blush to show off their high cheekbones; and a light coloured lip-gloss. They looked wonderful.

Marlene wore short a halter neck sapphire dress with a plunging neckline with black leather peep-toe heels and an elongated sapphire clutch. She wore her hair in a messy bun and accessorised light- wearing dangling emerald cut blue earrings, the colour matched her dress exactly.

Kathryn wore a short one shouldered ¾ sleeved magenta dress that she wore with knee length black boots with a rectangular magenta clutch. Her trivia was her log brown hair so let it down- it fell like a waterfall down her back and she curled it near the bottom making her hair the accessory.

Alice wore a long sleeved knee length bronze flowy dress with a knot detail to show off her tiny waist and a flirty 'V' neck. She wore her blonde hair in a pristine bun, in her neck was a gold chain with her favourite 'A' pendant and in her ears simple gold studs. She wore black heels and a bronze clutch.

Mary wore a spaghetti strap white dress that had a modest neckline but a low back. She wore black lace covered heels and a black lacy clutch to match. Her shoulder length hair cupped her face and she wore silver metallic bangles in one arm.

Dorcas wore a black short sleeved dress with a modest neckline that reached just above her knees. She had black point-toe heels and a red flower shaped clutch. Tying her dirty blonde hair in the signature Meadows ponytail she wore large dangling red earrings to add an edge to her appearance.

Lily wore a short and simple deep purple boob-tube dress. She paired it with black heels and a clutch to match. She accessorised with a beaded purple jewellery set that had dangling earrings and a breathtaking choker. She put half her eye-catching red hair into a French braid leaving the rest down.

________

…

People were starting to fill up the dance floor quickly. Marlene had convinced her band geek boyfriend to play with his friends and they were surprisingly good. James had been sceptical of the music being any good when he heard the group called themselves the 'Banned of Hogwarts', but they were good. He scanned the dance floor to see the hosts of this incredible party.

They were dancing together as a group in the middle of the dance floor. James noticed how all the six of them eclipsed the other girls at the party

He particularly noticed the redhead he'd been studying a lot recently. Purple suited her…a lot. She danced her cares away enjoying the party her friends had thrown in her honour. She looked stunning.

…

Gabrielle had seen James gazing at the dancing bodies on the dance floor from the bar as she contemplated her next move. But she noticed how James' gaze was apparently fixed and she followed it to the newly single Lily. A low 'of course' emerged from her mouth grabbing the attention of her trustee sidekick Emily Hawk.

'What is it?' Emily asked

'My ticket to being Queen next year is ogling Gryffindor's flower', Gabby replied spitefully

'She and Aldringham are in an impenetrable bubble, there's no way they'll remain broken up' Emily replied hoping to make Gabby feel better. Despite Snape having convinced Gabby of his foolproof plan Gabby had confided in Emily who had offered to deal with Julie using the potion.

Gabby nodded. 'Where is he anyway?' She asked scanning the dance floor in the immediate vicinity of Lily, if he wanted her back, which she was certain he did she knew he'd be keeping a close look out for her making sure no guy got close.

'Actually we may have a problem with Aldringham…' Emily trailed off pointing near the end of the dance floor where Sebastian Aldringham stood flirting heavily with a girl she recognised. Suddenly she was more adamant in making James hers.

…

'Just ask her to dance, mate' Sirius said as he downed a bottle of firewhiskey

'Who're you talking about?' James said, snapping out of his reverie, suddenly defensive

'Give me some credit James, we've all noticed you staring off at her, though I must say I approve of your choice' he said nodding towards the redhead

'I don't know, there may still be a chance she'll get back together with Aldringham and I don't want to play second fiddle to him. I reckon it's too soon to make a move' he said

'I think Aldringham and Evans are over for good', James was just about to reply when he heard his name being called

'Potter', he turned around to see his ex-girlfriend's sister jog towards him with her posse following close behind

'Hey, Stanford' he greeted

'Gabby', she corrected, smiling at him. 'I just wanted to talk to you' she said. She played with her long hair, keeping her gaze lowered making him think she was vulnerable. Potter was a player; he was arrogant and not particularly mature in the treatment of his dates. But he truly was chivalrous, with a desperate problem to say no.

…

Julianne had been having second thoughts about getting with Aldringham. She liked Lily, they had always been on friendly terms with each other but as she adjusted her hair band her gaze fell on none other than her sister staring at James. Of course! Gabby had the same plan, but to get Queen next year you had to be someone's Princess and she knew Potter to be incapable of a long-term commitment- she had to get Aldringham and therefore she went off to charm him.

She was dancing with Sebastian and from the corner of her eye she saw Gabby staring at her with Sebastian and she could not help but smirk slightly and then she saw her fool of a sister stalk off towards James Potter.

…

James was getting bored of the heavy flirting- your ex's twin was not the classiest choice. He looked around from the conjured bar and found Aldringham all over a girl. It took him a second to realise that the girl was none other than his ex- Julianne Stanford. His gaze flashed towards Lily who had thrown her head back to laugh at something Marlene had said but while he head had been arched back Marlene saw Aldringham and when Lily stood up straight once again her best friend directed her gaze to the couple dancing rather inappropriately. For a split second he swore he shock in her expressive eyes

The screen behind the 'Banned of Hogwarts' changed to show the infamous WW logo and their Sonorous appeared to have stopped working. The lights dimmed and the spotlight shone on Sebastian and Julianne and beside it were Lily and her friends frozen in place.

________

'Wicked Witch here, your one and only source into the scandalous lives of Hogwarts' elite. Spotted: Looks like Aldringham defied our great expectations and Meadows' rules of order. Daring to date before Evans? It's only a matter of time before it's off with his head - or hers.

Gabrielle couldn't believe it- Julie was ruining her plan to be the next queen. Panicking she gave one look to Emily and the blonde rushed off, walking briskly towards Julie and Aldringham holding a small vial and as she passed the duo she fiend tripping successfully splashing the contents of the vial onto Julie. Immediately there was sizzling and Julianne Stanford's hair began to disintegrate and she screamed. Emily ran quickly to an unaware Lily in a matter of seconds. James watched the events in disbelief- unaware of Gabrielle's smile. Sebastian noticed Emily by Lily's side and fumed. Julianne however ran quickly out of the tower crying.

Unfortunately for Lily, Wicked Witch was still broadcasting the entire event so it appeared as if Lily had told Emily to throw the potion at Julie

'Lily', Sebastian came to the redhead and her friends. 'You're the one who said we should see other people, you host this party to meet other guys and put an innocent girl in the middle of a cross fire? What is wrong with you?'

'I have no idea what just happened here, okay and we are broken up so why would I have a problem with you seeing someone else'

'Because you wanted to win this dating game, well at least you picked a winner…'

'Winner?' she interrupted him, 'If this was a competition, I wouldn't need Gabby and her posse to win'. She turned to leave but then paused and looked over her shoulder and said, 'you should probably leave…'

'Are you ordering me to go' he said unbelievingly

'Think of it as a suggestion. Let's face it, this isn't your kind of place is it?' and she walked away leaving Sebastian Aldringham in her wake.

Aware of the spotlight following her and determined to clear her name Lily walked to where Gabby and her posse were trying and failing to divert James' attention from the redhead around whom so much drama evolved.

'Never again,' she said in a low and dangerous voice, 'from now on, everything goes through me'

_'Spotted: a beautiful auburn phoenix rising from the ashes of a major public humiliation. Welcome back, Lady Lily. Consider us your humbled servants. 'Cause if looks could kill we wouldn't want to be Seb Aldringham. But if Lady L can do this to Aldringham, are any of us safe? Bow down or bow out. And who am I? That's a secret I'll never tell. You know you love me. XOXO¬ Wicked Witch_

* * *

Woop! Another chapter down!

I'm terribly sorry about the lateness and the lack of L/J fighting but by now we can establish that Lily is not some prissy book worm she is in fact a very clever, very popular girl who likes to have fun but she wouldn't hurt anyone. James is now completely smitten by her and really does want her and now he knows there is no way he'll be playing second fiddle to Aldringham. Snape is a cunning guy who wants Lily to himself. Also i realise it's quite hard to understand this queen business so here's the explanation for that- traditionally Wicked Witch makes her targets fifth years and that's when she gives her titles of arsitocracy thereby making them the Hogwarts' elite. In fifth year the girls are called 'Lady'. If they maintain their social status they are made 'Princess' in sixth year and the best of the best becomes the 'Queen' in the seventh year. This will become part of the story officially in the nect chapter or the one after that, but hopefully this explanation will help deal with any confusion.

A BIG thank you to the reviewers- you complete me :D and the silent alerters and favouriters. It really does mean a lot!

Also- I think I ought to give acknowlegements to the movies that inpire the chapter names- just to minimise any claims of plagerism and copyright issues so here goes- Chapter 2- Blast from the Past, Chapter 3- I Know What You Did Last Summer, Chapter 4- There's Something About Mary and Chapter 5- The Other Boleyn Girl.

Please review :)

Much love- Parisienne DLP.


	6. James Potters Series of Fortunate Events

Disclaimer: The world of Hogwarts and any recognisable characters, descriptions, scenarios etc, belong to JKR and the concept and some dialogues of the character Wicked Witch belong to the makers of Gossip Girl

Chapter name credit: Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events

* * *

Every good party should have an after-party, and it was the result of said after party that James Potter had a massive headache.

_I'm never drinking again._ He lied to himself as he gingerly go up from the cold stone floor which he had been unceremoniously laid on with a couple of half naked girls in a broom closet. Even hungover he could not suppress him pride in his threesome the night before. He briefly wondered the girls' names as he put his clothes back on that were strewn all over the place but gave up with indecent haste. Stretching slowly he and cringing inwardly as his joints clicked he walked out . Inhaling sharply at the coldness that greeted him he began to slowly trek down to the kitchen somehow without falling all over the place. He paused when he heard something and instinctively hid behind a suit of armour wishing with every fibre of his being that it was not a teacher or Filch and that they did not turn this way. Drinking was forbidden. It was one of the things that even he would not do in front of teachers just to see how far he could push them- expulsion was inevitable. Though he never expected to see the person that emerged and upon recognition he let out an involuntary gasp...

Marlene McKinnon.

The brunette was barefoot which made James wonder briefly how he'd heard her. Her heels were in her hands. And then she breathed noisily and looked around and it was then that James saw the tear-stuck face of the girl. Her eyes were bloodshot and her entire appearance a mess. Her hair stuck out in all directions- a mess that could rival James' own, her dress was creased and the zip was slightly undone from the top suggesting she had quickly thrown it on before leaving, and one of her earrings was missing.

And it was then that reality hit James- McKinnon had probably just woken up from a one-night stand.

He felt uncomfortable, not knowing what to say to her but briefly wondered who the bloke was. In no way was any sane guy leave someone like her alone at night. But Marlene had a boyfriend...that was probably what made her cry- the guilt.

As Marlene walked away his mind drifted to the girls in the broom closet. Would they cry? Considering there was more than one- probably not. Had the girls in the past cried- probably.

Feeling slightly guilty but mostly curious and hungry he removed himself from his hiding place. Pausing for a second to revise his itinerary he walked in the direction Marlene had just come from hoping to figure out who she had been with, though he hardly suspected that he would find anything, the boy had probably left by now.

He walked aimlessly for perhaps a minute or two till he came to a broom closet- the door was slightly ajar hinting that someone had left it in a hurry. Cautiously he walked up to it and opened it- only to see the person he least expected.

Shocked he took in the scene. Would Marlene really have been with him? No. Then he saw the other earring that Marlene had been missing. He picked it up and pocketed it without a word, throwing a disgusted look at the occupant of the closet he closed the door behind him and walked down to the kitchen slowly to satisfy his unending need for food as he contemplated over what he had just discovered.

...

It was lunchtime and everyone was in deep discussion about the party last night. Who had gotten with who? What everyone wore? The Evans-Aldringham show-down...the list went on.

Sirius and Remus were on about something, Peter was too engrossed in his food and James slowly ate his sandwich, his gave frequently flicking to the brunette. He had to give her credit for cleaning up good. She looked so together. No one would look at her and say she had been crying her eyes out earlier that day, no one would look at her and say she had had a one night stand. And with who? Even James could not bring himself to say it out loud for fear of a war.

His gaze then flicked to the redhead he was admittedly beginning to admire from afar. She looked unattached. Unattached from the conversation, unattached from the food she was eating, her friends, her surroundings. Perhaps it was this obliviousness that allowed Marlene's morning debacle to go unnoticed. She glanced at her watch and whispered something to her best friend, the brunette nodded and the girl simultaneously stood up and excused themselves from the rest of their friends and walked out of the hall side by side. Curious, James excused himself and followed.

He had made a habit to never part with his invisibility cloak and fished it out of his bag which he had charmed to be magically extended and weightless. He followed quietly at a safe distance behind the girls till they paused outside a classroom and James waited opposite the considering it a close but safe location.

'Am I being stupid' Lily whispered

'No', Marlene replied just as quietly, 'I think you ought to do this'

'We've never really had the climaxing conversation...' the redhead trailed off

'And I will be right here if it doesn't go as you want it too'

Lily just nodded and smiled at her friend and walked into the classroom and James saw the one and only Sebastian Aldringham sat on the teacher's desk inside waiting.

Lily left the door open, probably to make sure Marlene could hear everything, and walked to Aldringham who got up from his wooden excuse of a seat to greet her.

'I'm sorry' he started, not giving her a chance to so much as say hello. 'I was out of line accusing you for what happened to Julie'

'Thank you'

There was a brief pause

'Well aren't you going to apologise?' He asked her bluntly

'For what?'

'I didn't ask you to come here to tell you that you were innocent in that social revenge tactic thing. But clearly you do not have the decency to apologise for holding a party to celebrate our break up'

'It _was_ a party but it wasn't celebrating anything' Lily replied, her voice rose with each syllable.

'Oh please, it was called the ice-breaker, you were basically shoving it in my face that you were unaffected by us...clearly wanting to explore fresh waters', he mocked her

'How dare you' Lily warned. Her voice was low but the anger was evident. Her tone was dangerous.

'It wasn't very classy of you' he further provoked her

'Classy? What like you getting off with another girl barely a fortnight after we break up?' She exclaimed

'Oh for Merlin's sake Lily, we were broken up!' He yelled

'SO WHAT SEB? IT HURT!'

There was a pause. Perhaps it lasted a minute, perhaps a second. But all who heard the girl waited with bated breath for the next input of the conversation.

'I loved you, and just because he were broken up I can't just turn it off like that', she continued

'Lil...'

'Don't. Just don't.' She interrupted him. 'I think its best we end it. This relationship has run its course', she said and turned and walked away

The redhead fled the scene not even waiting for her friend whom she had asked to accompany her. She ran as soon as he exited the classroom leaving a concerned best friend behind.

Marlene wasted no time and followed her best friend and James stood there his half eaten sandwich in hand. He was unsure how he felt about what he had witnessed the whole day. She had loved him. _Him_. The undeserving bastard. Though in the events of last night she was not faultless. It was her friends that had held the part and though there was no upfront suggestion that it was for Lily to revel her new single status it was the unwritten and unspoken knowledge of the school.

...

By dinner things seemed slightly lax. The atmosphere was calm until the signiture self delivering howler flew in and the starry cieling that mimicked the night sky changed to show the infamous Wicked Witch 'WW' logo.

_'Wicked Witch here your one and only source into the scandalous lives of Hogwarts' elite. This just in- a cold was is brewing between our favourite ex-couple as they just couldn't resist to make another scene _(the ceiling changed to show Aldringham and Lily arguing). _While Lady L stole the show our favourite twins were at war again and Jules showed us how not to get a guy. And now my order of the social chain- being on top only means its a long way to fall. Exhibit A- Gabrielle. Though her hair will grow back the humiliation will last forever _(the ceiling changed to show Gabby')_ As for my favourite four turns out Black finally lived up to his looks _(the ceiling changed from Gabby's evaporating hair to S_irius _snogging_ Mary McDonald). Turns out the Virgin Mary isn't as pure as she claims to be...And who am I? That's a secret I'll never tell. You know you love me. XOXO- Wicked Witch_

There was a shocked silence and all eyes alternated between three different people: Mary, Sirius and Trevor Hopkins, Mary's boyfriend.

The fact that Mary was currently sat at the Ravenclaw table with Trevor did not particularly help. And then came the first inevitable insult: '_you slut'_ from Trevor, which then encouraged further remarks from those sat around them.

Mary not being able to stand it- like any sane person with humility- abruptly ran out of the hall. The other five girls from the group followed her swiftly while the hall erupted in discussion.

James looked at McGonagall but found her speechless with her mouth slightly agape. The teachers seemed unsure of what to do, while Dumbledore acted as if nothing had happened, no incriminating information had been revealed

He looked at his best friend the cause for this problem. Suddenly a rather selfish idea struck him tat he could mask with a gentleman's conduct.

'Come on Sirius', he said and his handsome friend looked up at him questioningly

'You're going to apologise to McDonald', James explained and got up to leave and Sirius wordlessly followed suit, though not with the intention of having an excuse to finally speak to a certain redhead.

* * *

Right so I am horrible. I really am. I am so sorry for how late this update was and I don't blame people for not reading and/or reviewing just to spite me.

In my defence I have exams, but while I should be revising for them I decided to have some me time, which in fact turned into more of a writing time

Also I'm having slight trouble actually getting the plot afoot, right now it just seems juvenile- so I'm terribly sorry about that but we will get there eventually. Hopefully soon...

But on the bright side we WILL get a taste of the infamous L/J volcanic relationship

Thank you for all those whom reviewed in the past and those who made it a favourite and/or set up an alert- you really do complete me!

XOXO


	7. The War of the Houses

Disclaimer: The world of Hogwarts and any recognisable characters, descriptions, scenarios etc, belong to JKR and the concept and some dialogues of the character Wicked Witch belong to the makers of Gossip Girl

Chapter name credit: The War of the Roses

* * *

James Potter was ranting. He was furious, confused and hurt. His friends thought he was hurt physically but only James himself knew of the emotional stab he had felt.

Remus Lupin was a werewolf. Being a lycanthrope, he had the privilege of being trusted by Madam Pomfrey, and therefore held the much envied access to her medicine cupboard. Patiently he listened to James rant as he applied the thick orange burn-healing paste to his friend's face.

James flinched at the contact of his friends fingertips with his irritated skin. He immediately felt a cool sensation as the inflamed and sore skin returned to normal.

'You're lucky it was a minor burn, mate', Remus started

James just shrugged. Finally after half an hour of uninterrupted ranting he was speechless. Allowing the paste to work its magic on his damaged face.

'Thanks', he said quietly once Remus was done. And got up from his friend's bed to make way to his own. He stripped down to his boxers and got into bed.

He felt awkward lying on his back, he favoured to be on his side or on his stomach, but he didn't want the paste to come off, he couldn't risk having shrivelled up burnt skin. It was a matter of pride and vanity.

* * *

Elsewhere, in the fifth year girl dormitories six girls were laughing.

Mary McDonald giggled away with her friends, looking fairly comical given that her eyes were still bloodshot from crying. Eventually it just looked like she had been crying of laughter as Lily and Marlene re-enacted the encounter of James Potter with Lily.

They had made it all the more comical by adding a hint of magic. Marlene had coloured her hair temporarily black and clipped it in a way to appear messy and short to mimic James' hairstyle. She had made her robes bigger and looser and added some eyeliner to thicken her eyebrows and just for the fun of it drawn on a goatie. She tried to deepen her voice to mimic his male one but only managed to sound like a cat that had been repeatedly thrown at a brick wall. She had changed the colour of her blue eyes to brown to complete the look.

Lily had taken it a step further by making her voice unnaturally high. But by the sounds of it she might as well have inhaled loads of helium gas.

The encounter itself had gone by in a blur and since no one really remembered what the two of them had said to each other so they had proceeded to come up with the oddest of retorts for each other, the original conversation, if one could call it that, was forgotten.

'You with your froggy eyes' Marlene laughed

'Your eyes are the colour of shit' Lily retorted and all the girls started laughing like there was no tomorrow.

'I have brown eyes!' Dorcas yelled, still laughing.

'I like brown eyes, just not on Potter' Lily defended her joke

'Yeah and Potter's eyes aren't brown or hazel, Dorcas', Marlene began, 'they're the colour of shit'. And the girls howled with laughter once more

Yes, Mary was particularly glad for the friends she had.

* * *

_Lily._ A simple four lettered word. The given name of an ordinary flower. That's all it was. No, in fact this word had been plaguing James Potter for the entire night. He lay in bed unable to get _her_ out of his mind. The eye-catching hair, the heart-piercing eyes, the million galleon smile. And not just the way she looked but the things she did as well. She was by no means a pushover, but he had seen her vulnerable. He knew how much her friends meant to her, hell he had _felt_ how much they had meant to her. Perhaps it was as much as his friends meant to him. Almost. There were some standards of loyalty that were rarely surpassed and becoming animagi fro a friend was one of those standards.

_Perhaps I should make good use of this time and touch up on the remaining research instead of thinking about some girl. _Though in the deep recesses of his mind the idea lingered that for once this was not just some girl.

Sighing deeply he threw the covers off himself and got out of his warm bedding. Shivering slightly in the chilly still air of the room. Looking around he found a pair of simple black robes that he could wear on top of his boxers. Being decent enough to leave his safe haven he left the dorms grabbing some silvery material and seemingly tattered bit of parchment on the way out.

If one was lingering in the shadows outside the Gryffindor common room entrance they would have been confused and intrigued by the self opening portrait hole as no one was going in or coming out. What made the scenario curious was the soft footfalls that were coming from air. But if one really listened into the thin air one could potentially hear soft breathing indicating a human's presence.

Argus Filch was a character that paid attention to such detail. Taking the craft of busting rule breakers as seriously as Dementors took kissing law breakers. He treaded the castle stealthily looking for any tell tale signs of stragglers and for once at night he came up with none. He considered briefly abandoning the patrolling and retiring to his own quarters but as he was about to give in to the temptation of sleep his conscience stopped him and he conceded to making one more round and then leaving the shadows to join the comfort of his warm inviting bed.

James had made it into the library successfully having avoided anyone and everyone- namely Filch and the love of his life- Mrs. Norris. He approached the restricted section slowly and cautiously, acutely aware of the amount of noise the scurry of a mouse could make in the library. He glanced at the bit of parchment he had grabbed on his way out- it was easily visible as a map, fine lines showed the castle and everyone in it. Satisfied upon seeing himself outside any sane person's and even Mrs. Norris' hearing distance he opened the large door that separated the restricted section from the rest of the library. As expected the loud click echoed in the room. One could almost feel the vibrations through the air.

It was now four in the morning and James felt like a true geek. Of all places to break into in the dead of the night he had chosen the library. His father wouldn't believe it. Actually, his father was probably convinced that James was unaware of the existence of that blasphemous underground location called the library- where the dastardly scrolls of knowledge were held. James grinned to himself thinking of this and slightly prideful of the imaginative reference to the library and the books that lived there. This bout of pure genius would be undoubtedly wasted on Peter, Sirius would shrug and overlook it deeming any reference to academia unless it was mandatory insignificant, Remus however would be proud.

Fifteen minutes later James was frustrated. There was nothing in the books he didn't already know and there was nothing he could occupy his mind with any more. Without a doubt by the next full moon the animagus transformations would be complete and Remus would never have to suffer alone. Ironically the next full moon fell on Halloween night. A fitting start to a new-found tradition.

Still draped under his silver cloak with a selection of books regarding animagi and the tattered parchment come map cluttered around him on the floor, James Potter was sat.

After reading and rereading the warnings, precautions etcetera associated with becoming an animagus James sat silently with the events of the evening freshly imprinted in his mind.

* * *

_He and Sirius walked out of the Great Hall, leaving the gossipers in their wake following the Wicked Witch blast. He thought that it was a noble idea to apologise to the girl for what had happened though it was no secret that she had an equal perhaps a greater role to play in her unfaithfulness than Sirius._

_Sirius remained thankfully quiet in their trip and they did not bother trying to cut the girls off by making it to the tower before them. They did not even bother to consult the map, fairly certain that the girls would be headed to Gryffindor Tower- it would act as a sanctuary for them._

_In fact they were in no hurry whatsoever, they walked at a leisurely pace, James was secretly hoping that the worst of the crying would e over by the time they would make it there._

_The long walk along with purposely missing the needed staircase as they moved randomly took them little under ten minutes._

_They murmured the password to the fat lady and walked into the empty common room. Unsurprisingly the girls ad probably gone into their dormitory._

_'What do I even say to her?' Sirius asked quietly_

_'Tell her you are sorry, and that she is not alone in what happened'_

_'But she will most likely bite my head off and hex me'_

_'Take it like a man' James shrugged and smiled at his friend deviously_

_'Fine' Sirius grumbled. 'Any bright idea on how to bring her down to the common room?'_

_'Not exactly, I was hoping that they would be in the common room, but its hardly surprising that they would opt for their dorm, yelling her name might do it'_

_Sirius looked at James with a rare straight face for a moment. He then walked determinedly to the foot of the stair to the girls dormitories and yelled 'McDonald'_

_Sirius waited for a few moments patiently waiting for a reply as did James, a meter or so behind him._

_Upon receiving no reply Sirius screamed her name again and repeatedly so until two girls, both carrying steaming mugs of what smelled like hot chocolate, appeared before him wearing identical scowls_

_'What is it Black?' Marlene asked_

_'I need to speak to McDonald, ask her to come down please?'_

_'Why?' Lily asked_

_'I want to speak to her, that's why' Sirius replied irritably, 'just tell her to come down and I'll leave here alone, okay?'_

_Lily nodded to Marlene and wordlessly went upstairs leaving Marlene with the boys_

_Moments later a Mary McDonald appeared with her pitifully tear-stained face and pink puffy eyes. Lily was with her with her arm around the depressed girl's waist._

_'I wanted to apologise' Sirius began. 'I'm sorry that you were ambushed like that, I never should have complied-'_

_'Complied?' Mary interrupted. Her eyes flashing dangerously. 'I was under the influence. You took advantage of a girl with impaired judgement' she yelled_

_'Hey hang on a second. You came to me. You initiated it and I followed suit- I'm a guy' Sirius retorted_

_'That's your excuse, "I'm a guy"' she said viscously making air quotes_

_'You're taking this out of context' James intervened, he wanted Sirius to apologise and instead of being thankful that he was sorry and willing to take up his part of the blame she was making it out as though she had not consented to their activities that evening. LIE. Sirius was careful when it came to such things. Rape was never something he would indulge in._

_'YOU STAY OUT OF THIS', Mary screamed. 'You come here with your pompous attitude with your head held high to oh so kindly share the guilt' she said_

_'Hey, this is not fair. I came to apologise, James convinced me to do so, don't be so difficult and lash out at him.' Sirius was getting angry now, no one screamed at his best friend like that._

_'The entire school thinks I'm a slut and it's all your fault' Mary yelled._

_'It's not like you didn't part take it' James said meanly._

_'How dare you?' The words were not uttered from Mary's mouth. They had come from the girl next to her. Lily._

_'How dare I? How dare she insinuate that she had nothing to do with it, she's twisting the events up making it appear as though Sirius took unfair advantage of her while she was drunk' James tried to justify. He was well in his right to do so._

_Sirius did not _have _to come up to apologise, but he had, and instead of taking the apology graciously Mary was lashing out at him- _that_ in James' opinion was unfair_

_'She's upset' Marlene yelled at James._

_'And she's well in her right to be so as well' Lily added on_

_'That does not give her the right to hurl accusations at me and nor does it give the right to any of you to yell at him' Sirius retorted_

_'But he does not ave the right to come here to condescend her' Lily argued_

_'I am not here to make her feel bad about herself. I told Sirius to come up here to apologise because it's unfair that she has to deal with the gossip surrounding her alone'_

_'Well it certainly doesn't seem like that' Marlene said stubbornly_

_'Well things are not always as they seem. Sirius came to apologise. He's sorry for the problems this has created for you, and it's unfair that you are being so ungrateful about this' James said and instantly regretted using the word "ungrateful"_

_'Ungrateful?' Mary said. And then she screamed in frustration._

_'How kind and thoughtful of you to think it would all be fine because the great James Potter and Sirius Black have come to apologise' Marlene said venomously. Each syllable laced with sarcasm_

_The sarcasm was not lost on James._

_'You don't have to be such a frigid bitch about this' James retorted_

_'You bastard' Lily yelled coming to the defence of her best friend. 'If you had come here to apologise then you would have apologised and be done with it. You wouldn't be here aggravating the situation like you are now. Take your pompous ass away from Mary and don't come within a close radius of her' she yelled_

_'What are you going to do? Pass a restraining order?' James retorted._

_The reference wasn't lost on her. He saw it in her eyes. She knew that he knew. And in that moment of realisation panic settled in her. And she made first impulsive movement her reflexes allowed to harm him. Her left arm was still securely around Mary but her right held the mug with steaming hot chocolate she had made in the dorms to help ease the mood in the dorm._

_With one spontaneous movement, before she had known what she had gone and done, her mind registered Potter yelping in pain. She had then realised that her mug was somehow suddenly empty._

_James himself registered two things, 1- that Lily Evans was perfectly capable to throwing hot liquids at people she did not want in her company and 2- the said hot liquid had burnt his face._

_'James' Sirius had screamed as Lily had chucked her drink at James' face and James himself had let out a gasp of pain. Lily herself had stormed off back upstairs, forcing Mary along with her ad Marlene quickly sprinted up after Lily and Mary leaving Sirius to deal with James._

* * *

That was not how James had wanted his first encounter with Evans to go. It was the complete opposite of how he wanted to speak to her. They would chat civilly, both realising their common traits- loyalty to their friends, academic brilliance, their common house and he was certain there was much more.

Suddenly there was a sharp sound- the sound of the door to the restricted section opening. Quickly consulting the map he saw three dots in close vicinity to him- Avery, Mulciber and Snape.

Rising quickly and somehow noiselessly he grabbed the books around him and placed them under a desk so it would appear as though someone had hidden these books so no one would take them out and not so that it appeared as though someone who was at this present moment in the library was reading these books. Pointing his wand to the map he whispered 'Mischief managed'. His voice was barely audible.

Adrenaline was pumping in his veins reading to fight them and then flee from the scene. His heart beat increased- an annoying stimuli as that made his head throb.

Peering from around a bookcase he saw the three figures hunched over a book that the middle figure was opening to a previously marked page. The greasy curtains around his face and his monotone voice when he said 'here it is' indicated that it was Snape

'This is perfect' came the silky voice of Mulciber

'Yeah, that'll put the mudbloods in their place' Avery agreed

James' clenched his fists at the offending word. It took all his self control to not begin hexing the boys there and then but his pride stood in his way as much as common sense did. Gryffindors did not attack the unsuspecting- at least not when the Gryffindor himself was invisible- it was unfair advantage. And common sense told him that he was outnumbered and therefore it was not an opportune moment to attack.

'I say we pick ourselves a nice little Gryffindor' Avery continued. And James became more frantic

'This spell will be best used on a girl' Snape offered and the other two offered murmurs of agreement.

'I've already made the notes on it...' Snape began

'I want to cast it' Mulciber said, interrupting Snape

Silence

'That's a good idea', Snape agreed.

'Right let's go, I think Filch will be coming this way soon' Avery said and the boys began to leave.

Snape took the bookmark out and slipped the book back in its place. James noted the tattered dark green leather-bound cover.

As the three boys turned to leave James could no longer control himself. It was one thing to insult muggleborns. Racism was not something James took lightly, but a threat to a fellow Gryffindor arose a strong feeling of protectiveness in him.

In anger he pointed his wand quietly at the table the boys were still behind and uttered a curse that caused the table to fly backwards with great force taking the offending trinity with it till they hit a large bookcase. Upon the contact the table exploded and the splinters fell around like rain, most of them penetrated the boys- something James was very happy about. The impact with the bookcase itself caused the respective bookcase to fall over causing a cascade effect and all the bookcases in that line fell back like dominoes making a lot of noise.

* * *

Argus Filch was almost done with the last of his rounds. He had needed to check the library but somehow he doubted that straggling students would be found in there. But you could never really know. So when the loud thuds sounded from the library he was surprised to say the least, then angry and then relieved that he had not gone to bed.

Carrying his lamp and with his beloved Mrs. Norris at his feet e quietly and swiftly walked to the restricted section of the library

'Who's there?' he called in his hard voice that struck fear into the hearts of most students

James upon hearing the voice panicked momentarily. Swiftly he opened Snape's bag and "borrowed" his quill and parchment and left a little note saying 'Hope that hurt' which he then duplicated twice for each of the three boys and tucked it in their robes. He then swiftly grabbed the book he thought the boys had been looking at but just to be safe he grabbed a number of books from the area the book would have been placed. _Better safe than sorry_, he thought and he fled the scene smirking as he walked right by Filch who saw the great mess in the library and the three boys lying there unconscious.

* * *

By the next morning it came as no surprise that _Wicked Witch _had chosen to mention the news of the night for the morning.

The ceiling had changed to the _WW_ logo signalling the upcoming gossip...

_Wicked Witch here, your one and only source into the scandalous lives of Hogwarts elite. __I bet your wondering what Gossip Girl is doing up so early. Truth is I never went to bed why waste precious time dreaming when waking life is so much better. While the vast population of Hogwarts talked about the battle between Gryffindor and Ravenclaw I was witnessing a civil war within the most loyal themselves _(the ceiling changed to show Lily chucking her boiling hot chocolate at James' face)_. Gryffindors at war. Mmmm. Yummy. But as the night progressed so did the battles though the only booty collected was by Filch in the form of three Slytherins _(the ceiling changed to show Snape, Avery and Mulciber being reprimanded by the caretaker surrounded by the ruins that James had caused- not that any but James himself knew that). _Though they say that love makes the world goes round, hate makes it so much more interesting. Surely Slytherins' Trinity did not harm themselves so come into my favour by finding out who did it- after all the worst enemies are the ones we don't know about. And who am I? That's a secret I'll never tell. You know you love me. XOXO Wicked Witch_

* * *

Well hello there :)

So it's been a while. But in my defence, it's a lot sooner than my last update *smiles cheekily*

Sorry about the wait. But as its summer I have a lot more time on my hands to write so hopefully there will be more frequent updates.

Thank you everyone who reviewed- your words never fail to bring a smile to my face.

Also, usually I spend days just proofreading my writing but right now I simply cannot be bothered, and it just gets tedious to reread what you have already written so I'm looking for a beta reader- any takers? Let me know via private messaging and I'll read your stories and get back to you.

Also, please review- I know you're reading and it'll just be so much more motivating to write knowing there are people waiting to see what happens next. Let's not forget there's two things that will DEFINITELY come back to haunt my characters 1- Marlene's one night stand and 2- the devious plan the Slytherins are hatching...

So yeah, it'll be nice to get some feedback. With hope I will not have to resort to asking for a set number of reviews before I next update...

Anyway, I'm rambling now

Love, _Paris_

x-x-x


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